i love it. it is so useful for seeing what is coming behind me on the roads, without having to constantly turn around and risk hitting a pothole or something or lose balance. honestly, i don't think i'd want to do my commute without out.

I don't have a mirro on my bike .... yet but I have a couple questions for those who do. 1) Since getting hit behind is fairly rare, do you think being able to see something approaching from behind can actually help you prevent being hit?

Personally, I still trust that cars are going to see me and go around, so I don't think the mirror is going to save me from being rear ended. I've always been kind of baffled by people saying they are going to dive in a ditch based on what they see in the mirror. Unless I see the big rig from Duel behind me straddling the shoulder, I'm just going expect the car to go around.

Originally Posted by hyhuu

2) What does "awareness" of the surrouding buy you in terms of safety?

I think where it really helps me is with all the rude cyclists who pass me and don't bother to ring their bells or call out. Several times I've been about to make a left turn or dodge a pothole, only to luckily spot some a-hole passing right next to me. We both would have went down in a nasty wreck if I hadn't seen them there. For me the benefit of the mirror isn't so much safety as making my riding easier and more pleasant. Being able to see when it is clear behind me to change lanes without having to be constantly looking over my shoulder is invaluable. I suppose there is a safety component to that, because I can keep most of my attention focused on the hazards to the front of me.

Originally Posted by hyhuu

3) Even with the mirror, do you still turn around to look before you turn? Thanks.

Before I got my mirror I thought I'd still look over my shoulder, but the Safe Zone has such a nice field of view in it, I quickly found that I didn't need to. Now I rarely bother to look over my shoulder. I suspect part of that might be where it sits in my field of view, even without looking directly at it I think I'm subconsciously getting some information from it about what's behind me, so that a quick glance confirms that nothing is there.

I always listen for cars and look at every single car coming behind me in the mirror. I can tell if they saw me when they move over to give me 3ft clearance. If they are coming right for me, it means they did not see my blinking lights, reflective safety vest etc. I move over onto the gravel. Also very useful in the city when swapping lanes to turn. I can't ride without a mirror.

My standard procedure for being overtaken on a country road is to watch the mirror, so I can see when the car behind me applies his brakes, or comes off of his line move around me. Then and only then do I move over into the three feet or so of the lane I've been saving for myself. Without the mirror it's much harder to judge whether the car/truck/minivan-of-death, has decided to go around me or to knock me down into the ditch. The mirror is also key for this when you're driving into a headwind and you can't really hear much of anything coming from behind you.